LIVE: GIGANTIC INDIE ALL DAYER VOLUME III – 28/05/2016

– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER – The idea is a simple one, take a number of bands that emerged in the same era and build a festival around them. Although, this is not merely a nostalgia trip, as all the bands on show have reformed with new material to perform alongside their fan favourites. This is […]
– BRAMLEY-MOORE DOCK, LIVERPOOL – The Merseyside festival is back and it seems to have cemented itself a place as one of the more popular smaller festivals – just a year after its relocation to Bramley-Moore dock.  Last year’s festival saw three days of talent whereas this year saw just the two days of live […]

LIVE: LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY – 28-29/05/2016

LIVE: MOTHERS – 25/05/2016

– GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER – Mothers are a difficult band to pin down. Hailing from Athens in Georgia (home to such indie alumni as REM and B-52s), it started out as a personal project for Kristine Leschper before she recruited a full band to record their excellent debut album When You Walk A Distance Way You […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Haunting. Marissa Nadler is haunting Soup Kitchen tonight. She cuts a lonely figure in the dark basement of the shabby-indie-chic bar that is Soup Kitchen. When she first appears, she provides the sense of loss we have come to know from her, it is so wholly felt throughout the underground […]

LIVE: MARISSA NADLER – 26/05/2016

ALBUM REVIEW: THE SILVER LAKE CHORUS – THE SILVER LAKE CHORUS

The Silver Lake Chorus do not just have any Glee factor, they are THE Glee factor. Their debut provides an original, fresh, choral perspective of songs provided and written for them by a number of well-known songwriters, including Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie, and Postal Service, Wayne Coyne […]
– NIGHT & DAY CAFE, MANCHESTER – Before I talk of my disappointment with Doomsquad, hailing from Canada, I firstly want to give a quick mention about support act The Six. If these were supporting anyone else, I’d probably hit the bar and wait for them to fuck off stage before shuffling back into the […]

LIVE: DOOMSQUAD – 25/05/2016

LIVE: JAGWAR MA – 26/05/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Aussie psych-poppers-cum-Maaadchester students Jagwar Ma return to Manchester to a rapturous crowd, a sold-out crowd in fact. The parallels that are made between them and The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc…  are always talked about – songs like ‘Exercise’ with its bassy groove could easily be put on The Second Coming. […]
Gold Panda’s latest album takes it’s name from the parting words of a Japanese taxi driver, while visiting Hiroshima. This collection of tunes, made in Chelmsford, comprises samples and memories of his trip, along with accompanying photo’s from his travel companion, Laura Lewis. It’s been 6 years since his impressive debut ‘Lucky Shiner’, and his progression as […]

ALBUM – GOLD PANDA ‘GOOD LUCK AND DO YOUR BEST’

LIVE: CATE LE BON – 23/05/2016

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Gorilla is one of those venues that feels ready made for a mosh pit, for a crowd of sweaty rock fans pogo-ing into one another. It’s a great little venue that provides intimacy for the audience, artists and bands. Tonight though, it’s unlikely that there’ll be any moshing as the venue […]
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Rowdy Black Lips enter the stage among chilly gusts and misty fog, perfect set for their opening track ‘Sea Of Blasphemy’. “Sea of vandal/Lost my candle…”. Pure classic garage, with broken bones, glass effects and everything. This gig at Manchester’s Gorilla is their only show in the North of the UK, […]

LIVE: BLACK LIPS – 20/05/2016